Empowering Women of Color to Build Wealth: Mahalene Dulay’s Revolution
In this episode of The Passionistas Project, Amy and Nancy Harrington sit down with Mahalene Dulay, the founder of Modern Wealth Collective. Mahalene shares her journey as a financial advisor of color in a predominantly white male industry, and her mission to help women of color build and protect their wealth. She discusses her personal background as the daughter of Filipino immigrant parents, her challenges in the financial industry, and her commitment to creating a legacy of financial literacy and empowerment. Mahalene also highlights the importance of community, intentional spending, and making money management enjoyable. Tune in to learn about her transformative work and her vision for a more inclusive financial future.
Listen to the full episode HERE.
LINKS
ON THIS EPISODE
[00:19] Meet Mahalene Dulé: Shaking Up the Finance World
[00:44] Mahalene's Background and Passion
[02:27] Early Influences and Entrepreneurial Spirit
[05:21] Navigating the Financial Industry as a Woman of Color
[07:02] The Birth of Modern Wealth Collective
[08:01] Challenges and Triumphs in the Financial World
[11:50] Balancing Family and Career
[15:43] Modern Wealth Collective's Mission and Pillars
[18:42] Unique Challenges for Women of Color in Finance
[22:35] Empowering Women Through Financial Education
[27:23] Making Money Fun and Intentional
[33:18] Success Stories and Client Relationships
[37:49] Working with Mahalene: The Process
[46:27] The Authentic Asian Network
[51:27] Final Thoughts and Contact Information
[55:30] Join The Passionistas Sisterhood
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Passionistas: Hi, we're sisters, Amy and Nancy Harrington, the founders of The Passionistas Project, an inclusive sisterhood where women come to find support, purpose, and empowerment. Each episode, we share stories of passion driven women breaking barriers and redefining success.
Today, we're sitting down with Mahalene Dulay, the powerhouse behind Modern Wealth Collective. She's on a mission to shake up the finance world by helping women of color build and protect their wealth.
So we're so excited to talk to you today. It's been a long time coming and we're finally making it happen.
Mahalene: Yes, I'm excited too.
Passionistas: You're very welcome. Um, so what are you most passionate about?
Mahalene: Oh my gosh, what am I not passionate about? So I'll actually give you a quick background about my name, Mahalenea, where it comes from, and that ties into your question. My name comes from the root word mahal, which means love in Tagalog and Mahalene means to be loved. So you know when people ask me about what I'm passionate about, when I say I'm a multi-passionate person by nature and my name has to do a lot with that is my love for for life.
When it comes to passion for Outside of the office, I love being outdoors. I love meeting new people, really big people person, love spending time with my family, traveling, eating my way through travels, learning about new things. I mean, just really trying to take in as much as I can. I heard the other day that, you know, life, there's no dress rehearsal for it.
Like, This is all you got. And so that really resonated with me with my business. I'm very passionate about, like you mentioned, working with women of color, underrepresented communities in the money space as a female financial advisor of color in a predominantly white male industry. It's been, um, you know, I mean, there's, there's been a lot of progress, but there's still a lot of work to do.
I would say that female financial advisors of color makeup, I think the last statistic I saw was less than 10%, maybe lower than that. Within the industry. So with my experience and, you know, with my personal experience and with what I love doing in terms of helping people in that regard and making an impact with your money, that's really where a lot of my passion lies in the business world.
Passionistas: Amazing. So. Let's take a step back and talk about where your passions started and, um, what was your childhood like? Where'd you grow up? And did you, um, were you interested in kind of giving back to people even at a young age?
Mahalene: Yeah, that's a great question. I always say that my story starts before I was born.
Oh, there we go. I would say that my story starts before I was born. I'm the oldest daughter of Filipino immigrant parents. They came here just like many immigrants with the story of the American dream. And they worked really hard. My mom, stereotypically, if you will, my, my mom was a nurse. My dad was in the Navy.
I'm very stereotypical, again, of Filipino parents. Um, but they knew that in order for them to really reach their financial goals and to create the life that they wanted, that they had to do something different. So they actually started their own business and. With their own experiences. And I think also with just the culture of Filipinos being family oriented and community oriented, I saw a lot of that growing up.
They owned what's called a boarding care. So it was a private residential home for, um, seniors with early stages of dementia. And as a young child, my sister and I would be at the home. We would talk to a lot of the residents and we had this, um, very, Loving relationship, um, and just this, um, I guess you would say, you know, just this passion for working with people in that regard by seeing my parents work through that themselves, um, and over the years, I knew that I've always, you know, from that, I've always wanted to work with people, uh, funny enough, I actually wanted to be a child psychologist when That's it.
I'll see you soon. Bye. I was thinking about college and thinking about what I want to do with my career when I realized how long I was going to be in school for and how long, how long I would potentially have to pay off my student loans. I said, you know what, maybe I'll look at a different, different avenue, but that entrepreneur spirit was always there that wanting to give back and that caring nature was always there because I've seen my parents do it, do it themselves. I took a course, a finance course in high school and I'm sorry, not a finance course, but my teacher, then my economics teacher spent some time talking about just like the practical side of money. You know, like when you turn 18, these are things that you should look at. I was like, Oh, this is This is kind of cool.
Um, so what I was thinking about, okay, if I'm not going to be a child psychologist, what other career can I look into? I took some finance courses and just fell in love with the whole aspect of being able to help people with something that is not only a part of their survival, but it's so integrated in so many different aspects of our lives.
And I, I, I, I graduated from USD with a degree in finance and started my career as a financial advisor with a larger firm. Um, and when I started, I started back in 2007. So for those that remember that time, I mean, that was when the big real estate bubble was happening. So if you can imagine coming out of college.
As a brand new advisor. While everything is just utter chaos asking people to say, Hey, you know what? You can trust me with your money and I can help you. I mean, it was, it was a lot. Um, but I knew that at the core of it, money again, is, is something that is there in our lives every day. It is something that creates opportunity.
It creates financial freedom and. Over 18 years and counting and doing this, I've really rekindled my passion in so many different ways from starting as a newbie, knowing that I wanted to do this to leaving the old firm and starting my new firm that time is 2018. So just before COVID, you know, it's just like, it's almost like restarting all over again.
Then COVID happened and we, you know, as, as we all know what, what happened during that time. It was all such a blur. Uh, but I feel that. Over all of the, over all of the years and all of the lessons that I learned, it always came back to who is the community that I'm serving and, um, you know, what can I do with my experiences and my expertise to really make that positive impact, to move the needle forward.
And it was in 2020 that I, that the light bulb moment came to my, came to me where. I realized, Oh my gosh, like again, all of this, all of this time, I've never really known exactly who I was serving. I was helping my clients. A lot of them been with me since day one, but it was just, I didn't feel like there was any direction.
And so in 2020, that's when I realized, Oh my gosh, you know, for so long, women of color have waited for a seat at the money table. And I got tired of waiting and said, you know what, I'm going to build my own. And then that's where Modern Wealth Collective was rebranded and reborn.
Passionistas: That's beautiful. I love that. Um, so let's go back to the housing bubble. You're fresh out of school, the housing bubble bursts. So how did you, how did you change, take the turmoil of that time and launch your career in the middle of all that? What were those challenges like? How did you overcome them?
Mahalene: The biggest challenges were people telling me that I wasn't going to make it being brand new in the industry and at that time, try, you know, again, like trying to build my client base.
I went to different trade shows. I went to different networking events and it was, it was really hard being on a commission only basis. Um, not knowing if I was going to. Be able to feed myself. I mean, thankfully, my parents were somewhat supportive. Um, and you know, we're understanding that just like them, they went through their own struggles.
And so I had to fall on my face several times to get me to where I am today. That time too, I would say technology was a really big one as well. I mean, again, during that time for, I'm going to totally date myself here, but to get to clients houses, I had to print out MapQuest. And so I would have like a thick packet of, um, you know, different addresses and make sure I go to the right direction.
I used to have to carry a paperwork bag that was, I felt sometimes even heavier than I was. Um. And meet with clients in person. Sometimes in building my practice at the beginning, it was really difficult too, because, um, you know, it, it was kind of like a numbers game, just finding, finding clients to make sure that I can, um, not only survive, but reinvest back into my business.
So that way I could grow. And I remember. Um, some of the other challenges too, during those times was as, as a woman, um, going to trade shows where I would be the only female at the table with my male colleagues and people would come by and I would talk to them and they go, Oh, can I set up a meeting? I'm like, sure.
Great. You know, let's go ahead and set one up. Oh, I met with your male colleague, your boss. I'm like, Oh. No, that's, that's not my boss. That's, that's my colleague and you can still set up a meeting with me. Um, and I've, you know, had, uh, I've just, again, I just, you know, think back, I, I just literally wrote an article on this too, for my blog, just think back on, um, some of the experiences too, even as a woman of color in, in the industry.
Um, And having to deal with the microaggressions and the stereotypes, too young, you're too Asian, you're too this, too that. Um, and despite it all, I knew that there was something greater for me. And I know that sounds very cliche and very vague, but, um, I think, I think a big part of it too, is seeing where my parents had come from.
And. Want, and knowing that through the grit, through the resilience and through watching them through their own experiences, that I was going through a lot of that myself in, in my early stages of the career, but I took all of that and instead of bringing me down or instead of quitting, I use that as motivation to move forward, almost like it.
Proving to other people like, you know what, you don't know me and, um, you don't know what I'm going through. And I know, I know what I'm doing. I know that what I'm doing is impactful and I'm, I'm going to keep going at it. Um, over the years, the, some of the bigger challenges I say, would say would be of really being more focused on exactly, again, who I was working with.
Um, And so, you know, when I, when I mentioned earlier that, um, really, I guess, niching down and figuring out exactly who that community is, that really gave me a lot more clarity on my mission and the directions to where to go. Now, it's not to say that there aren't obviously more challenges. Now, I'm a mom of three boys, which is, uh, you know, very.
fun full time job itself. Um, and so one of the challenges now for me is trying to find that unicorn of a balance between being a mom and a business owner, while also thinking about my parents as they get older, as the oldest daughter, you know, I'm, I'm likely going to be their primary caregiver. Um, and, and so it's, it's, uh, it's in the season of life now where I'm, priorities are different, and so the challenges with those priorities are different, um, but that's something that I keep in the back of my mind is that it is, again, a season, so it's bound to change, and whether something right now might be a challenge or a struggle, um, you know, I have to think about, again, where am I currently at, But then also more importantly, is it in alignment with what's important to me?
And I think that's, that's also a really big perspective that's helped me over the last few years.
Passionistas: We read, I think, on your website that when you decided to found Modern Wealth Collective, that it was a big period of transformation for you personally, in your personal life. So how did that impact the direction you decided to take the company in?
Mahalene: Yeah, at that time when I left my firm in 2018, my oldest was three, so it's still a toddler. Um, I had a newborn baby and my husband was in a career transition. For me, you know, if I look back at it, I'm like, Oh my gosh, like what the heck was I doing during that time to, to leave and do something. But, um, you know, one of my, one of my mentors has told, has told me that there's never really like a good time.
Right? Like a quote unquote, good time to do something. And sometimes it is a matter of taking that calculated risk and just trusting in your intuition and trusting, um, in yourself and the mission that you will get through it. Um, and again, it's just another, another season that you have to have to overcome and go through.
But I would say, you know, during that time, just, uh, as a second time around mom and, you know, trying to maintain, um, you know, maintain our own personal finances as my husband's trying to figure out his own journey in life. I mean, it was, it, it was a lot to handle. Um, I definitely give credit to. my support system.
I talk a lot about community, which is why I love the passionistas project is because community is so important to me. As I mentioned, being Filipino community is one of the core roots of who we are, um, in our culture. And that carries with me, even through modern wealth collective. So my community is not just, you know, what people would think of.
Um, people around me are like networking, but it's also my family. It's my team that helps me run everything behind the scenes. It's my clients who I enjoy working with and get to be a part of their lives. Um, and there's, you know, there's just. There's, there's so much to say with community. I mean, I really believe that success is not achieved alone.
And for anybody that thinks that they are doing everything on their own, I mean, it's, it's a little, I think it's, um, you know, very, very scarce thing to do that, but there's, there's definitely a lot to say with, um, you know, community and especially like during that transition in my life and even now. Um, being able to lean on support of others and for me personally, just being okay with letting go and allowing people to help elevate, elevate me to those next levels.
Passionistas: Absolutely, absolutely. So talk about the Modern Wealth Collective and what's your mission and what are the three pillars that you focus on?
Mahalene: Yeah, absolutely. Our three pillars that we focus on at Modern Health Collective are wealth, purpose, and impact. And when we talk about wealth, obviously, you know, it's, um, What we do logistically, right?
Like financial planning, um, investment portfolio management, but we look at the story behind the numbers and that's where the impact and the purpose come into play to you is that we're not just here to build dollars. We're here to build dreams and. Why that's so important is because I think, especially for women and for women of color, with the lack of representation in the financial services industry, um, my experience and bringing that to the table really helps to integrate other aspects like culture, personal background, the type of money mindset and habits that we have.
Um, that play a part in our financial plan. Um, and so with purpose, we, I talk a lot with clients about, don't just tell me your financial goals, but tell me why they're important to you. You know, why is it so important that you pay off this debt or why is it so important that you go on this trip? You know, give me, give me more depth to not just why this is important, but how is this going to bring more meaning to your life?
Um, and that translates to where the impact comes into play. Um, you know, if we look at the top 1 percent wealthy around the world, they don't look like many of myself, they don't look very much like, you know, ourselves as women. Um, and I really. So for me, I really hone in for clients in thinking beyond just what they're doing for themselves, and how can you create either generational wealth or legacy for your family, and even beyond, and thinking beyond just charitable giving or giving back to non profits, but the idea that Okay.
Money gives you financial freedom and money gives you time. It gives you this opportunity of time, um, as a valuable currency where you can give back more or being able to use your money to support initiatives that are important to that, you know, to my clients or important to them. Or that do more good in this world.
Um, you know, we need more, more of that. Um, and, uh, you know, for modern wealth collective, I think also just really taking a holistic approach to financial planning, um, just kind of wraps, you know, wraps that all up in terms of how, um, you know, keeping, keeping clients and keeping community at the center and everything else around that is in alignment with that person and what's important to them.
Passionistas: Yeah, you know, you mentioned the top 1 percent not looking a lot like, um, the community or communities you're serving. So what are some of the unique challenges that women of color face, not only working in the financial industry like you've experienced, but also just in terms of opportunities for earning and, you know, the, the, the, um, yeah, barriers that are put up for women of color in the, in the world of finance.
Mahalene: Um, one I would say is just, uh, you know, historically systematic injustices. Um, if we look at black and brown communities over history, even ones that have started to build and become prosperous, um, you know, if there's, there have been.
There have been challenges that they've seen along the way that have either stunted that particular growth or, um, have completely destroyed, you know, what they've been building and having to start back from scratch again, um, I was putting together and getting ready to. I put together a blog and some content for, um, uh, you know, women's history month.
And it's, I can't, I can't even tell you every time I do this, uh, for the last several years, how mind blowing it has been. I mean, just within the last 60 years, right? For example, uh, women, women were not allowed to open up credit or a bank account, have a mortgage, uh, without permission from their husband if they're married.
Um, Uh, the wage gap obviously is still a really big issue, um, and you know, just, just again within the last 60 years, the Equal Pay Act was supposed to help, um, help with gender disparity in, in terms of income, but we're still seeing a lot of that, you know, a lot of that disparity now, um, even with something like the Affordable Care Act, so this is more like 2010, you know, before the Affordable Care Act, if women were to, you know, Um, apply for health insurance for the same amount of coverage, their premium are typically higher than their than men, um, for the same amount of coverage, which is again, it's just like mind blowing to me.
So when I look back in history, um, on how money career and business for women in general have been, it's even deeper for women of color, because a lot of those laws that were enacted, even if we look at. Um, you know, the women's suffrage and voting and everything. A lot of it was to benefit to white women.
And it, it wasn't until many years, if not decades later, where it then, what became an advantage or a benefit for women of color and other marginalized communities, I mean, even the LGBTQ plus community as well, a lot of these were not available to them. Um, And so, uh, when I talk about, when I talk to other small business owners, too, I mean, there is a very striking, um, low, very low percentage of venture capital or funding for small business owners, again, you know, small for women, and then even significantly less for women of color.
And, you know, it's, I think that's why, again, going back to why I built Modern Wealth Collective, it's so important to have that. Have the not just the representation, but to also have the professionals who can resonate with those challenges because it's likely that they, um, you know, they have gone through those challenges themselves.
And so being able to navigate through that, I think really helps clients and really helps, um, women of color see beyond what is going on and. to really rein in what they can do with their money to change that narrative for, for others.
Passionistas: So you mentioned earlier about talking to your clients about the emotional side of money and the cultural side of money. Do you, do you see a common thread about why women have The blocks about money that they have.
Mahalene: Yeah, um, one, one commonality that I see is when they're growing up. So when they see, um, you know, their parents, it's typically their father who would handle the finances and, um, mom would take care of the household and more of the day to day things.
Um, I've seen, I've seen it too, where some of my clients would talk about mom would be Handling finances, but more of the short term, like, okay, you know, I, I need to pay for this field trip or I need to make sure groceries are taken care of, but not think about the longterm where the problem lies in that is when life happens, right?
I mean, whether it is a change in marital status, whether it is, um, Women, um, some of my clients, you know, leaving the workforce to care for children. I mean, COVID was a huge impact on women and women of color in, um, uh, for, for money. And, um, you know, for, for the workforce in that regard and just being able to help them navigate through that.
It's, I mean, it's been a lot. Um, I would say some of the other biggest challenges too. Um, in, in it is just not having like the financial autonomy or the financial confidence to really dive into the weeds with their money. Um, you know, for outside of just the financial services industry in general, I mean, money has been historically, um.
You know, regulated and run by men, and so it's, you know, it's a really hard system to break down and to, you know, really get into, again, how do we change that narrative so that way it's, it's not that way and we can be more, um, and we can make progress towards leveling out the playing field. Um, but I think, I think, um, another commonality for a lot of my clients as well, as we're talking about money and talking about their mindset is just, um, I mentioned like not having the confidence.
And I think a big part of that is just not having the education. So whether it was systematically like through school, I mean, you know, quite the, the matter of the fact is that. Most schools don't really talk about this, you know, they, they don't, they go through their curriculum, but we don't send our young adults out to knowing, um, how to open up a bank account or how to use credit wisely and to their advantage.
Um, so not having that education and not having that confidence, I think really plays a part into like imposter syndrome. It pays a part into, um, you know, I, I. I don't know what I don't know and so I don't know what to do, you know, um, I've had a lot of clients who would also go through their different transitions in life and I would hear things like I, you know, my, my husband took care of a lot of this and now I'm starting from scratch again, I feel ashamed, I feel like I should have known this and, and, and so You know, in my role as a financial advisor, I almost feel like I wear multiple hats.
And so sometimes some of my conversations with clients are not talking about the logistics or technicalities of money. It's talking about, okay, well, I mean, tell me a little bit more about why. Um, you know, why you feel that way and tell me a little bit more about, um, again, why is this important for us to, um, you know, to, to overcome so that way we can start looking at our money as something that is on our side.
You know, we can start looking at our money in a more positive light. So that way it can start. Working towards your goals. So it's, it's really, you know, it's really interesting to see how much money impacts us and not to mention too. I mean, it's one thing when we, when I talk about money with clients, when they're alive, but when we experienced death or we experienced that loss of income, even from disability, it is.
Um, it's just so crazy how, how much money impacts people and almost like changes some of their personalities. Um, but, uh, yeah, I mean, um, for, for a lot of women and for, I would say even like, especially for women of color, the, you know, cultural, cultural backgrounds and cultural aspects of not talking about money has been a big, big common factor too.
Passionistas: Yeah, for sure. Um, it's interesting too, because in addition to empowering women, you also say that money should be fun. And so I do think because so much of us have like trauma around money or fear of talking about money, how do you make it fun?
Mahalene: Yeah, um, I think so one big part of what I do is reframing the way that we say things.
So for example, instead of calling it a budget, I call it I'm going to talk a little bit about intentional spending, you know, what can we, what can we do to remove that scarcity mindset or to remove that idea that you can't spend your money now, my dad used to have this saying where he said, with money, you can't take it with you six feet underground or with you to heaven, so start using some of it now, and I'll tell you something that most financial advisors won't tell other people is you should go spend your money.
Obviously, I'm not talking about going and racking up credit card debt or putting yourself in a hole where you start to Feel that pressure of not being able to pay it back. Or you just feel like you're always behind, but there, there has to be some enjoyment and in the money that you have now, because life changes and can change so quickly.
I had a call with a client a couple of weeks ago. She's retired. She was a teacher, she worked really hard, um, not married, doesn't have any kids, and the first thing that she said is, I need to know if I can take a trip, and I said, oh, okay, let's, let's talk about this, um, you know, what, what's going on? She said, I was just diagnosed with cancer.
And, um, You know, we both shed some tears because she's been with me for, uh, 15 years. So I've gone, I've seen a lot of, um, you know, what she's gone through and I've been with her through her, through her financial journey. Um, you know, and I, and I talk with her and I, and I look at her accounts and I said, yes, and I want you to book your trip today.
Um. And I explained to her, look, you know, we, we talk a lot about saving for retirement. We talk about how women typically live longer in retirement. So there's that longevity factor. We don't want to be necessarily scared, but we do want to be mindful that we don't use all of our funds in the early years of retirement because we might need it later.
Well, that later is now for you. And, um, and I think that's an important lesson, even for me to. Navigate with my younger clients as well, who are still in their accumulation phase. They're still in the thick of working and building their careers, having families and just, you know, living, living life like retirement is not even in the forefront of their mind.
Um, And I, I think it's, you know, I think it's, I think it's so important to really, like I said, spend money with intention. I mean, um, you know, the, the, um, the old male, um, idea of don't buy those lattes, you know, we talk about those clients. He was like, if you want to go and have a nice drink at a coffee shop.
Once a week, then let's put it in your intentional spending plan and make sure that it happens. If you want to buy yourself some flowers because they just genuinely make you happy, then let's put that in your spending plan. There's no reason why that you can't enjoy the things that you have now. And spend your money now to like, really, really live life because, um, again, it can, it can change and it can be gone in a moment.
Passionistas: Yeah. That's such excellent advice. Um, so what's, what's your number one tip for women who just hate dealing with their finances and just procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate? I'm not talking about anyone in particular.
Mahalene: Yeah. Yeah. Um, so it goes back to what Amy was saying is make it fun. So something that I encourage a lot of my clients to do, or all of my clients, I should say, is to have money dates.
And when I say money dates, I don't mean, um, you know, I don't mean like spending hours and hours looking at your statements and looking at everything, but even if you do once a week, once a month for a good solid 30 minutes and you give yourself a priority, you know, this week I'm going to be looking at it.
How I did with my spending or this week, I'm going to make sure my beneficiaries are updated this week. I'm going to check off that list of starting to, uh, or increase my contributions. Um, but whatever it is, I think just make it fun. Um, and then two for procrastination, um, I would say find an accountability partner.
This is where. It is so important for women to talk about money because we don't, we just, we just don't, there are not many spaces where we can, and whether it's societal or cultural where we just don't talk about money because it is not, um, you know, it's, it's not something that you just do, um, talking openly and having an accountability partner who can support you in the journey is helpful and whether that is a friend that you look up to who is open to have those conversations and or finding a professional.
Uh, Um, like a financial advisor, um, to help guide that's, uh, that's important, which, um, with procrastination, time, time is a, is a really big advantage for building wealth for clients. And unfortunately, when we. Um, don't look at our numbers or when we procrastinate, it, it will set us back. And if we're again trying to change the narrative and trying to put ourselves in a position where we want that financial freedom for ourselves, it's so important to be involved with, with our money.
Passionistas: Do you have like one or two success stories from women you've worked with that really stand out to you?
Mahalene: Yeah, gosh. Um, I feel like all of my clients are so different and, um, yeah, I mean, I would say a couple of, I can share a couple of stories. So there is, um, One, well, my, my client that I just talked about who is retired.
I mean, I would say that was a success story because she was so worried about not having enough for retirement where, um, you know, looking at her situation and knowing where she's at now with this cancer diagnosis, the fact that. I've helped her to build and save and plan so that we could get to this point to say yes, I want you to take time off and I want you to spend your money and take these trips is so fulfilling for me and for her.
Another success story, um, actually this was one that was a little early on in my career. I was working with a client. She was a teacher, um, locally here in San Diego and, um, she was a single mom. Um, I was working with her for about five years and then I get a phone call and it was from her oldest daughter.
Now, during the time that I was working with my client, I would see her kids, you know, whether it's in passing or, or whatnot. Um, and I get a call from her oldest daughter. Her oldest daughter goes, I just wanted to let you know that my mom had passed away from cancer. And she told me that if anything ever happened to me, that I needed to give you a call because you can help us.
So I had the, all three of her kids come into my office. We spent two hours going through all of her statements, everything that she had, even things that were not managed by me. Um, like her pensions. Um, we went through everything, made phone calls with them, got all of the paperwork. And just help them navigate through the technical side of the transition.
Um, from then, since then, um, all three of the kids are clients of mine. And when I meet with them once a year for their annual review, the first thing that always comes up from them is, I'm just so grateful that you were there for my mom and so grateful for us and that you spent the time to help us. Um, and and for me, that that was just, um, that that's a story that I will never, never, ever forget.
I think that's a really big part of why I do what I do is that money is, Um, you know, I look at financial planning as a, as a long-term, a long-term investment. And, um, as I mentioned, it's not just for when clients are alive, but it's for when you're not here, you know, what kind of, what kind of legacy or financial story do you want to write for yourself when you're, when you're no longer here?
And what kind of impact does that have on your family and your loved ones? Being able to see. My client's kids and watch them now grow as they start their own families, as they build their retirement plans and start working towards their own financial goals. Um, you know, it makes me. It, it gets me emotional because it, I go back to my gosh, like my client started this for them, you know, when she was working and, and now I get to see her kids and their future kids, um, be able to see a lot of the benefit that she had put together for them, um, you know, in the beginning.
So, so I think it's a really beautiful cycle to, um, in money that we can, that we as women, um, you know, women of color. There's really a lot of power in money and what we can do with it. Um, and, uh, you know, that's something that I would say is one of my best success stories, is just having those long term relationships with clients and being able to help them.
Passionistas: That's beautiful. It's so nice to see your passion for it. Um, so tell, tell us what it's like if we, if someone hires you, what, take us through sort of the nuts and bolts of the process of what it looks like to work with you. Absolutely.
Mahalene: I appreciate that. The 1st step is what's called a discovery call. Um, it's really a 30 minute zoom call.
To see if we vibe, um, you know, ask questions about what, what's important to you. What are some of the challenges that you're facing? Um, and it's a, it's a way for me to almost build trust right off the bat. I mean, money is, is, um, again, so important. It's so personal and I have to see if it, uh, well, it has to be a mutual fit, right.
To see if it works for both of us. Um, so when I talk about my approach, I talk about the holistic side of financial planning. Um, and typically I go through different services that we offer, depending on where they're at, um, for, um, for some clients, it might be, uh, what's called our financial planning strategies or like our financial wellness strategies.
And what that means is that clients don't have to invest money with us. And that was a really important aspect when I built my firm, because a lot of the bigger companies out there won't even bat an eye if you don't have at least half a million dollars to invest with them. But again, if we're going back to, um, historically marginalized communities and women of color who may not have the chance or may not have the resources available to reach that, I mean, where do they go?
You know, where do they go to get sound financial advice? So, um, so that platform allows me to, um, find motivated individuals who want sound financial planning. We do strategies, but they don't have to invest money with us. And so like a gym membership, we set up a monthly membership. That gives us the opportunity to get them set up.
And then I have some clients who it makes sense to do financial planning strategies, and they have assets to invest. So, you know, some, most people, um, want to learn about investing, but, you know, the truth of the matter is, is that either one. They don't have the financial confidence to do it or feel like they don't have the time to do it.
And so they end up not investing at all. And so that's where I can come in to help clients figure out what is the best way to invest their portfolio based off of their risk tolerance, based off of their goals and their time horizon. Um, and help them manage their portfolios for them. So that way it's one less thing that they have to worry about off their plate.
Um. And then the other type of service that we have is what's called project based. So this is where some clients come in, um, and they're DIYers. You know, they, they like to do things on their own, which is fantastic. Um, but they just need a second pair of eyes to say, am I, am I actually doing the right thing?
Or is there something that I'm missing in what I'm doing where you can shed your expertise on? Um, and so. Um, all of those different platforms really gives the opportunity for ways for clients to, again, receive sound financial advice without having to feel like they're pressured to do one thing or the other.
Um, and it gives them that flexibility. A lot of what we do when I talk about with clients in our meetings is there's the educational aspect. Um, so I talk a lot about. Breaking down the complex jargon into something simple and very manageable. Um, after each meeting I have with clients, we have a summary that send and it's just very clear plan that says, okay, here are your action items.
So here's your homework. And then here's our homework and we'll follow up with you. I think where financial advisors miss the mark in our industry is that, um, is the communication aspect. So I've, I've had over my career where some, um, clients or new people who are thinking about becoming clients say, you know what, I haven't heard from my financial advisor in like five years.
I'm like five years, you know, how many, you know, how much time are you like, how much time or how many things would happen in a five year timeframe. So for us, communication is so important. We contact our clients pretty regularly throughout the year. We meet at least once a year. We contact at least once a quarter.
Um, but we invite clients to say, Hey, you know what, if things change, or if you're like, you know, I don't remember that thing that you said about X, Y, Z. And the meeting, like, can you just clarify it for me? They can call, they can, um, email us and we're happy to answer their questions. Um, you know, I want clients to walk away feeling.
More financially confident than they did before. And I'll tell you, I mean, some of my clients have been working with me for the 18 years that I've been doing this, I'm, um, you know, celebrated 18 years this year, which is a wild thing to say. And some clients still ask me the same questions that they've had every year for the last 18 years.
And they go, I'm so sorry. I have to ask this again. I was like, no, there's no reason why you need to apologize. I would much rather you ask the questions so that you feel. Confident and that you, um, know that you, that this is a safe space for you to not feel judged or feel ashamed to ask the question. So even if it's the same question, just go ahead and ask it.
Um, but yeah, it's a very long-term relationship that I have with clients. And, um, part of the reason why I call it Modern Wealth Collective is that I don't claim to be the know all of everything in a financial plan. So, for example, I'll do collaborations. with their tax professionals, although bring in a state planning attorneys to talk about, um, their legacy plan.
You know, we bring in their insurance agents to look at their home insurance and car insurance policies to make sure everything is in alignment with their goals. So it's very much a team effort and going back to that idea of community. And that's, um, that's what I think makes us so unique.
Passionistas: Well, I think the other thing that makes you so unique is that you bring this very, um, kind. And I would say loving energy to what you're doing, uh, as my experience from dealing with, I'll say, men, um, in the financial industry is that it's very transactional and it is about the bottom line. And I think it's really beautiful that you have a heart and you're sensitive to how people are feeling and you'll take the time to actually just have that conversation.
Rather than be talking about dollars and cents. And so do you think that's something that's intrinsic in your nature as a woman to bring to the table? Or is it something you very intentionally wanted to do when you set out to do this kind of work?
Mahalene: It's both. I think women have this, um, you know, innate, Part of themselves for nurturing, caring, and empathy.
I mean, I think empathy is so huge, especially when it comes to money, because again, money is personal. There's so much more behind the numbers and, um, being able to bring that to the table, I think one allows clients to trust me, um, and, you know, to share. Aspects of their lives that maybe, um, again, we're shunned or were, um, were, um, asked to not talk about and, um, you know, and, and for me also, like I said, being intentional about it too is important because there are, I mean, I've had, you know, I've had time, um, clients in my career where Things don't align anymore.
Um, whether it's, uh, like for example, when I rebranded, if you will, a modern wealth collective in 2020, and I started. A lot of my messaging and branding was about working with women of color. I had some clients who said it didn't align with them anymore, um, or it didn't align. It wasn't me or what I was doing.
It was the messaging. Um, and it was, you know, who I was serving and it just didn't align with their values and, and that's okay. And for, for me to be able to bring that empathy to the table and to not feel, you know, not feel offended by that. I think that's where. Having the, that the trust in the money space for, for anybody in working with the financial advisor, I mean, there has to be that level of, um, being able to resonate with them and having those values that align with them.
So then that way they can achieve their goals in the best way that is authentic to that, to them.
Passionistas: Yeah, that's great. So you're also a founding member of the Authentic Asian, so tell us a little bit about the mission of that network.
Mahalene: Yeah, um, this was, uh, recent, so I'd say, actually, maybe not so recent, maybe two years now. Um, but the, the Authentic Asian, um, shout out to the founder, Misa Chin, um, um, and So it's actually a, um, a colleague of mine out in the East coast who happens to also be another financial advisor of color. Um, her name's Rita. She reached out to me and told me about, um, the authentic Asian and saying that, um, Misa is creating this platform where other Asian American women can come together, share stories, um, network and really build support for one another.
Um, and as a founding member, I mean, I got to see a lot of the. Um, you know, almost like see the business starting from scratch, uh, and being a part of the, um, process of what, you know, what is this going to look like? And how can we continue to support the community? What I really love, um, a lot about the authentic Asian is that very much like.
Um, modern wealth collective and, you know, some other organizations that it's very specific to that community that they're serving, right? It's like very, very niche. And as an Asian woman myself, they're, um, the platform and the people are, we're able to share a lot of stories that resonate with one another.
Um, and it's really amazing to see how many Asian women have. Um, really broken the ceiling over the last several years, I mean, there, we have fireside chats with CEOs that I didn't even know were CEOs of these bigger companies, let alone, you know, um, Asian females and CEOs, um, and it's just so amazing to be able to have that space, um, and going back to why even, you know, even with your community.
Having a group of people who are like minded and can, are there to support one another. You know, I don't, I don't think that we have enough of that. Um, you know, it's, it's almost like with the, with the old boys club, it's always about competition and I, I'm always a big believer that it's collaboration and community over competition.
There's plenty of business to go around, plenty of ways where, um, you know, you can make clients, but, um, But to help really change the narrative, I mean, women need to help support one another in their endeavors and find different ways to bring these initiatives to light.
Passionistas: Absolutely. We could not agree more. Um, so what's the question we're not asking about building and protecting wealth?
Mahalene: Oh, what's the question? That's a good question. Haven't had that one before. Um, what's the question that we're not asking? I would say, Well, actually, it goes back to a lot of what I was saying earlier.
Is it in alignment? So, for example, um, when we talk about spending money, you know, is, is what you're spending intentional? Is it purposeful? Is it something that brings you joy? Is it intentional to what's helping you work towards your goals? Um, when it comes to investing, I mean, investing has a lot of power.
Um, you know, there's a big difference between. Just saving and investing. Saving is really great for the short term rainy day funds. It's going to happen maybe within the next year or two, but investing is really where, um, where we can build our wealth and create that longterm legacy. And with investing, it is very possible to, to, um, invest in companies and organizations that align with.
You know, with what's important to us. Um, and even when we talk about things like in the estate planning process, or, you know, what happens when we're no longer here, what kind of, uh, again, a financial story do you want to write for yourself? Um, that. In, in your trust or, you know, what you, what you write in, in that estate plan and how you're building everything up to then pass down to future generations.
Um, is that also in alignment with, with what's important to you? Um, and so with, with money in general, I think that's a really, I think that's a really important key aspect, uh, for anybody, um, no matter what stage of your financial journey you're in is, um, are the. You know, is my money in alignment? Are the people that I'm working with in alignment, um, in my business or the clients that I'm serving in alignment?
It's, um, yeah, I mean, that's a, that's a really great question. And so that's, that's the first thing that comes to mind.
Passionistas: Excellent. And where do people get in touch with you if they want to work with you?
Mahalene: Um, on our website at modernwealthcollective. com, you can sign up for our newsletter and also, um, uh, you know, sign up to, uh, to set up a discovery call, a discovery call with me.
The discovery call is complimentary and, um, you know, some people say like, okay, well, if I, if I do this discovery call and it doesn't work out, then I'm back to square one. So something that I talk about with clients in the discovery call is that if it's not a fit, I tell them, okay, you know, at this time, I don't think that this is a really great fit for us, but based off of what you talked about, here is another resource that you can go to, because I really think that you're obviously, you obviously set up a meeting for a reason.
You're motivated to do something. There's something about, you know, Your money right now that is speaking to you to say, Hey, you like, you need to go find some guidance. You need to find an accountability partner. Um, and, um, and that's something that I've, um, that I think is really helpful for that first call is that it, it doesn't just have to be with me. There is bound to be somebody else or somebody within my network that I can point you in the right direction, so that way it is a better fit. But yeah, heading to our website, we're also on social media. You'll find us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. And. Yeah, I mean, hopefully, you know, for, for those of you that are listening that you get a chance to connect and, um, as I mentioned way early on in the podcast that I, I love meeting people, you know, I love building my network and I love building my community and so when people sign up for our newsletters or when they sign up, um, for a call, I mean, you are part of our Modern Wealth Collective community and that's, that's important to me.
Passionistas: So one last two part question, which is what's your dream for yourself and what's your dream for women?
Mahalene: My dream for myself is, and this actually ties into the second part of the question, um, my long term legacy vision is To work more on pushing policy to make financial education mandatory. There is movement already for making it mandatory in high school, which I think is fantastic, but I think it needs to start way earlier than that.
It needs to start as early as kindergarten and be something consistent, um, consistent education and curriculum all throughout. Middle school and high school as well. And we, um, you know, we, we see that a lot with, uh, with, you know, in, in the way that I talk to clients or even just people in general, when I say, Hey, you know what, what's, what's something about money you wish you learned?
It's like, well, I wish I knew about this in school or I wish I knew about it earlier. Um, and so long term legacy vision is to work with a collective of other. Financial professionals and other like minded people who are already doing the work, but wanting to push it further. So that way it is accessible in public schools and specifically for women.
Um, you know, my dream and my vision for women is to not just even out the playing field, but to. Be, um, uh, you know, to, to, to show that representation and to, to have the 1 percent look more like me, to look more like you, you know, to look more like the women that are hustling and grinding and having been told that they can't do it or that they can't hold a career and, um, you know, be a parent or that they have to have kids to be successful.
Like it doesn't. No, like the, the narrative and on all of that needs to change. And I think where money comes in is that money creates that unique opportunity of power, and we shouldn't be afraid of that power. We should really harness, um, what we can do with it to create that change in that impact.
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